South Side gallery pitched

Artist is requesting variance to open Bethlehem studio.

Artist John Cheer has spent more than a decade turning formless ceramic glass and stoneware into valuable sculptures and fountains.

So, when he came across a vacant Laundromat in south Bethlehem, he saw a work of art.

Actually, many works of art.

He wants to turn the boarded-up building on Atlantic Street into an art studio, complete with a workshop for classes, plenty of space for local artists to display their work and a loft for him to live.

It's a tall order for a section of town more noteworthy for rows of duplexes than artwork.

Cheer's proposal is unique because he chose a nearly half-century old building that's in a residential district just outside of South Side's commercial corridor. He went through municipal scrutiny earlier this year just to allow him to use the building as his home and art studio.

Now, he wants permission for four other artists to display their wares and sell them in the building. But the city considers that activity as a retail operation, which is not allowed in that residential district. He'll go before the Zoning Hearing Board tonight to argue his case for a conditional variance for that use and other issues.

City zoning officer John Lezoche said the zoners will look at the project's impact on the neighborhood and the uniqueness of the building, vacant for years.

Cheer said he sees cultural potential in that tiny section of a South Side neighborhood, not far from Yosko Park. Over the past decade, a transformation has taken hold of the South Side business district.

Huge projects such as the Banana Factory have drawn a certain clientele to the city's second downtown, producing eclectic, upscale boutiques and restaurants.

It's the type of foot traffic that Cheer would like to draw in, and possibly increase, just east of that district. In his view, art can transform a city.

While the layperson would see 420 Atlantic St. as 18,000 square feet of clutter -- old laundry bins, slabs of wood and other junk -- Cheer sees a beautiful frame with 27-foot high ceilings and metal beams.

"I want to be able to transform the place into something beautiful," Cheer said. "It's how I feel about my art."

Cheer is one of many entrepreneurs who have been attracted to the city's South Side over recent years. The first three blocks on E. Third and Fourth streets are bustling with boutiques, restaurants and other businesses.

City officials say that interest is seeping slowly east into the 500 to 800 blocks of the business district, just around the corner from Cheer's site.

Roger Hudak, the head of the Mayor's South Side Task Force, said he couldn't be happier about Cheer's application for the gallery.

"That's been eyesore for at least 10 years," Hudak said. "That area needs some help. I was always wondering what kind of business would move into such a building."

He said the property is not far from Yosko Park, an area police have targeted to stop illegal activity. While neighbors say crime has since waned, having a cultural building in the neighborhood will give children one more opportunity to stay off the streets. If Cheer gets the city approvals, he would like to offer ceramic workshops to the public.

"When I heard about the project, I was hoping it would be something like a smaller version of the Banana Factory, only closer and more affordable," said Josephine Zavecz, who lives near the site in the 900 block of E. Fifth Street. "I think this is an excellent opportunity for the neighborhood."

Donna Wagner, who also lives nearby, in the 700 block of Laufer Street, said she thought it would be a good fit with the neighborhood. "I can't wait to see the artwork," Wagner said.

Cheer has been interested in art since he took an art class in a suburban Los Angeles high school. Born in China in 1966, Cheer and his parents emigrated to California, and his father died shortly after the move.

When his sister moved to Allentown in 1991, Cheer and his mother followed and he took a ceramics class at Moravian College. Cheer, who had his own auto-body shop in California, abandoned his idea to set up a similar shop here, opting instead to sell his art.

He sold his first pieces to a show in 1991, and eight years ago, invested all of his money in a studio along Union Street in Allentown.

With a lack of parking and little visibility from the road, Cheer sells most of his work -- priced $40 to several thousand dollars -- at East Coast shows, ranging from New York City to Florida.